Spring Break Cookies

The kids are on break this week.  They seem to think that means I'm available to take them wherever they want to go.  But they also want me to bake cookies.  Hmm...only in the Star Trek universe can I be in two places at once -- and as long as I don't see myself there's a chance I'll remain intact.  At any rate, I do a lot of driving around during school days but all of my activities are on break too so I'm staying!  And I baked cookies.

This is my friend, Karon's, recipe.  I can't use vanilla chips due to nut warnings on the packaging so I bought some non-nut warning white chocolate bark and broke it up.  Oooo--wee! I don't recommend that.  They are way too sweet and it made them less dough-y!  (My teen son loves them though)

Orange Vanilla Cookies

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup softened butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

2 1/2 - 3 Tbsp fresh finely grated orange peel

1-2 tsp. fresh orange juice

3/4 -1 12-oz package vanilla chips

Combine dry ingredients.  Set aside.  Beat butter, sugars in large mixing bowl.  Add egg, beat well.  Add fresh orange juice and grated orange peel.  Gradually beat in flour mixture.  Stir in vanilla morsels.  Allow dough to rest and chill in refrigerator for two hours.  Preheat oven to 325 deg.  Drop by rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes until slightly brown around the edges.  Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies.

NOTE: Be smarter than I am.  FIRST, grate the orange peel off the orange.  THEN squeeze it for the juice. Trust me, it's better in this order!

Prayers Answered

The most fervent prayers of 2009 have been answered. Because there's no way all this snow will melt by Friday, we'll have a white Christmas (and they're talking about more on Christmas day). And because of the way snowplows work, and bus stops are buried in 4 feet of snow, school has been cancelled for this week. That's two blessings at once!

At the same time, if one drives carefully, the major roads are clear and we can get out to pick up things we need...like more baking chocolate.

Last week I made some absolutely BEAUTIFUL Christmas truffles. I'd never tried this recipe before and it worked perfectly. The physics of how the chocolate draped and ran over the filling, the sprinkling of red and green on top. Stunning. That evening I proudly presented them to my family and .... BLECH! We couldn't figure out why they were so terrible. Then a thought occurred to me. I asked my husband to reach into the bag of recycling and pull out the orange packaging.

Yep. It says UNSWEETENED chocolate. So today we'll pick up semi-sweetened and try again. You'd think someone who loves to read as much as I do and bake as much as I do would have thought about it before melting the chocolate. Sigh.

In the meantime, we still have mint chocolate brownies, and I made some cream cheese cut-outs today that we'll decorate this afternoon. Stop by if you're feeling festive!

CREAM CHEESE CUTOUTS

½ cup margarine or butter, softened

1 3 oz package cream cheese, softened

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 egg

½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. vanilla Oven: 375°

In a mixing bowl beat margarine and cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add about half of the flour, the sugar, egg, baking powder, and vanilla. Beat till thoroughly combined. Beat in remaining flour. Cover: Chill 1 hour or till easy to handle.

Divide the chilled dough in half. On a lightly floured surface roll half of the dough at a time ⅛ inch thick. Cut into desired shapes with a 2½ inch cookie cutter. Place 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Baked in a 375° oven about 8 minutes or till edges are lightly browned. Cool cookies on a wire rack. Makes about 60.

POWDERED SUGAR ICING

1 cup sifted powdered sugar

¼ tsp. vanilla

Milk

food coloring

Mix powdered sugar, vanilla, and 1 Tbsp. milk. Stir in milk 1 tsp. at a time, till of spreading consistency. Divide into bowls, add color.